Board of Trustees

PSC Board of Trustees: Leading Our Community Forward

Adam Silverman – President

Adam and his family live in San Carlos and have been members of PSC since 2016. Adam has served on the Board of Trustees since 2020 and served as Secretary from 2023-2025. A scientist by training, Adam works in drug discovery research. He enjoys spending time in the outdoors and can frequently be found exploring the many beautiful parks and mountains in California on long hikes and backpacking trips.

Allan Jaffe – 1st Vice President

Allan, a life-long resident of the Bay Area, is serving his second stint on the board of trustees. He previously served during the 1980’s and early 1990’s, not long after joining our congregation. He lives in Belmont with his wife, January, and recently retired from a family-owned glass and mirror business. He previously owned and operated a printing business in Burlingame

Sandy Shepler – 2nd Vice President

Sandy and her daughter have been PSC members for 25 years. The PSC community has been an important part of Sandy’s life, and she’s happy to be able to expand her engagement with PSC now that she’s retired. Sandy is a native San Franciscan, and has enjoyed living between San Francisco and San Mateo, other than a 2 year work stint in Santa Cruz. Sandy retired from a career which included Retail Buying and Merchandising, and most recently Software Training for worldwide IBM retail clients. Sandy enjoys walking her dog, connecting with friends and traveling.

Lee Strieb – Treasurer

Lee and his family have been PSC members for over 30 years. Lee has served as PSC’s Treasurer for the past two years. For many years he was chair of the PSC Education Committee, back when his two kids (now in their 20s) were young. He has also been the PSC Board Secretary. Lee worked for 32 years as a researcher with UNITE HERE, the national hotel workers’ union. He “retired” from that job in 2020 but consults almost full-time on various projects. Lee is a serious amateur baker, and occasionally teaches Jewish baking classes at PSC and elsewhere. He also enjoys gardening, hiking, politics, doing oral histories, and creating spreadsheets. Lee and his wife, Shari Golan, live in San Mateo. Lee is originally from Philadelphia; Shari grew up in Foster City.

Linda Oberstein – Secretary

Linda is a Bay Area native and has been a member of PSC since 1999. She is the chair of the Religious Practices Committee. Linda loves spending time with her college-age kids, Avital and Zev, and her 12 year old black lab, Diamond. She is a retired primary care physician, now in her second career as a palliative care chaplain which nourishes her soul. In addition to the PSC board, Linda is a member of the Sinai Memorial Chapel and Chevrah Kaddisha board in San Francisco, working on educational outreach projects. When not working or volunteering, Linda can be found on the ski slopes enjoying fresh, crisp air!

Matt Parks – Past President

Matt has been a member of PSC with his wife Laura since 2000. All three of their daughters attended Hebrew School and had their B’Nai Mitzvah at PSC. In addition to his Trustee duties, Matt has also chaired the PSC Security committee. When not at his day job working in product management, he can be found on the soccer pitch playing, coaching and reffing soccer or on the basketball court playing for PSC’s basketball team.

Sue Blockstein – PS Women Representative & Trustee

Sue and her family have been members of PSC for over 20 years. Sue is a retired electrical engineer who spent over 30 years working on Integrated Circuit Designs. Sue is also the treasurer of PS women, and represents PSC at the Jewish Community Relations Council. Sue is active in the Peninsula Multifaith Coalition. Sue enjoys working in her garden, bike riding with her husband on their tandem, running, and hiking, as well as volunteering with Science is Elementary in Bay Area schools.

Lou Harris – Men’s Club Representative & Trustee

Lou has been a member of PSC since 1974. A native of Liverpool, England (and born in the same hospital as John Lennon, only MUCH later), he grew up in Chicago and moved to San Mateo in 1973 with wife Linda (z’l) and daughters Michelle and Robin. Lou is a Past President of PSC and currently serves on the PSC board as trustee representing the Men’s Club. He is also the President of the homeowners’ board of Wyndham Kona Hawaiian Resort on Hawaii Island. Lou’s interests include family, travel, and the (former) World Champion Chicago Cubs.

Dikla (Dee) Blumberg – Trustee

Dee and her family have been PSC members since 2019. She currently lives in Foster City with her husband, Matt, their two kids, Maya (14) and Daniel (12), and two very energetic dogs. Maya and Daniel are both in Kesher/KT Hebrew School, and Maya celebrated her Bat Mitzvah at PSC not too long ago. Dikla has also enjoyed serving on the Education Committee at PSC, and working on various programs and initiatives. She spent her teenage years in Israel and has been in the Bay Area on and off for the past 20 years. She is a social psychologist by training, currently working in clinical trial management, and loves traveling with family and friends.

Ilan Glasman – Trustee

Ilan and his lovely wife Carol, have been members of PSC for nearly two decades. They have two beautiful adult children: Ethan and Joel. Ilan has been conducting the choirs at De Anza College in Cupertino for the past 17 years. In addition, he has been chair of their music department and campus conciliator (you can ask him what that means). Ilan enjoys traveling (particularly to Israel) and volunteering. At PSC Ilan serves on the Religious Practices Committee and volunteers musically as cantorial soloist, Torah reader and choir director. In his spare time Ilan assists Terra Nova High School with their musical theatre productions and also enjoys volunteering as a soccer coach and referee for AYSO.

David K. Ries – Trustee

David and his wife, Jean, have been PSC members for ten years. They have two children – Sebastian is in PSC’s Kesher Hebrew school, and Josephine was a PSC Bat Mitzvah in 2022. David is a lawyer specializing in health care, and he Chaired PSC’s COVID Reentry Team prior to joining the PSC Board. A proud New Yorker by birth, David came to San Mateo by way of San Diego in 2012.

Jonathan Romanowsky – Trustee

Jonathan and his family have been PSC members for over 20 years. He lives in San Carlos with his wife Mindie and Ben (18). His eldest daughter Emma (23) lives in DC and works on the hill and middle daughter Lexi (21) Is in college. Jonathan grew up in Mexico City and San Diego but moved to the SF Bay Area in 1989 to attend college (Go Bears!). Jonathan has dedicated his career to commercializing novel medical technologies, including co-founding his current company Inflammatix over 8 years ago. Jonathan is an advisor or board member at companies and organizations focused on entrepreneurship and medical technologies (e.g. Piction Health, Stanford StartX, LBAN). He is also an avid sports fan and participant, including playing on a men’s baseball team, assistant coaching Sequoia High School’s baseball team, and refereeing youth soccer. Jonathan has many other interests too, including travel, flavorful (but not necessarily fancy) cuisine and supporting Immigration/refugee causes.

Joy Shmueli – Trustee

Joy has been a member of PSC since her family moved to Foster City in 1976. She attended Hebrew and Sunday school here, had her Bat Mitzvah here, and was a teacher’s assistant at our religious school while in high school. After Joy returned from college she taught Hebrew and Sunday school, and ran our Kadima program. Joy coordinated High Holy Days children’s programming, was part of our Torat Chaim team, Rabbi Search Committee and chaired our Education Committee. In the tradition of Dor l’dor, her son Cayden’s Brit Milah and Bar Mitzvah were held here. By profession, Joy is a public school educator, having worked with children kindergarten through eighth grades. She enjoys traveling, cooking, baking, and is an avid sports enthusiast.

Alan Zorfas – Trustee

Alan and his wife, Nancy, moved to Foster City from New England in 2010 and joined PSC in 2012. Originally from Boston, Alan has three sons (ages 30-36) living in Boston, Washington D.C., and the Bay Area. Alan is a co-founder of a marketing intelligence company that moved its headquarters to the west coast in 2010. His career started in advertising, spanning Boston and New York, before launching his current business. In the late 90s, Alan served one term as a board member of a synagogue in Norwalk, CT. He also served on a committee for the launch of New York’s Living Memorial to the Holocaust. Nancy and Alan have been fixtures at PSC’s Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat service, and Alan has recently graduated from a three- to a four-braided challah in his baking collaboration with Nancy.